Conventional rotary coil motors are well-known and have been in existence for well over a century, the basic design feature being a rotor ring with ferromagnetic elements passing through a series of stator coils arranged in a circle. Various methods for transfer of torque have been employed, most commonly using a system of gears, chains, or pulleys. These devices, however, have not enjoyed widespread use.
Subsequent designs and improvements sought to transfer torque by magnetically coupling across a magnetically permeable sealed housing. This advance enabled the movement of fluids without contact between the fluids and vulnerable elements within the motor. Examples include a machine for moving wet cement, another for moving coolant within a nuclear reactor, and a centrifugal pump design.
More recent art replaces the ferromagnetic elements (iron elements which are not magnetic, but which respond to magnetic forces) within the rotor with permanent magnets. Whereas a ferromagnetic element can only be attracted into a coil, a permanent magnet can be simultaneously repelled out of one coil and attracted into the next, provided that the magnetic poles are arranged favorably with respect to the coils. A typical permanent magnet/coil motor incorporates a rotor ring comprising a series of magnets arranged in alternating polarity with spaces or non-magnetic elements between the magnets. This rotor passes through an interrupted series of coils, the interruptions between the coils being necessary for mechanical transfer of power between the rotor and the powertrain. U.S. Pat. No. 6,252,317 to Scheffer et al. discloses such a commutated electric motor with a plurality of permanent magnets on a rotor which passes through coil stators. In this device, torque is transferred by means of teeth on the rotor engaging multiple gear wheels.
While conventional coil motors employ permanent magnet rotors, or magnetic means to transfer torque, there are inherent inefficiencies and deficiencies in such coil motor designs and magnetic means to transfer torque. The most notable among these is the difficulty in transferring mechanical power from a rotor travelling within a set of coils, typically accomplished by means of gears or pulleys making physical contact with the rotor through spaces between the coils. But allowing these spaces limits the number of coils, and hence, the efficiency of the coils, and introduces an element of friction. Secondly, these devices harvest only the magnetic field within the coils whereas considerable magnetic field is also available outside the coils to perform meaningful work when configured appropriately.
Generators, which could be described as the converse of electric motors, also suffer from similar inherent inefficiencies and deficiencies. For example, U.S. Pat. Pub. 2012/0235528A1 to Axford teaches a toroidal inductance generator employing magnets within a toroidal copper coil being induced to move by magnetically coupled magnets external to the coil attached to an internal combustion motor. Design limitations, however, preclude this generator from also functioning as a motor.
In view of the foregoing and also the rising costs of energy, there has been a continuing effort to design a more efficient motor and generator.